A bad dive

[Zodiacdiverdave]

I have posted this in the SOLO Diving forum and I don't want to hear any guff about "where was your diving buddy". But I thought I would post it here so others can learn from it.


Well we finally got out for a dive, the flu and the weather has kept us grounded for a month. We dove on a Saturday which is not our norm due to increased shipping traffic where we usually dive but the weather for Sunday looks like crap. Just 3 of us went out so we only took one Zodiac; it was tight but do-able. I stayed up while Steve and Dwayne did the first dive, no issues other then fending off boats from our area. Then it was my turn, Steve came up first so I quickly got dressed but Dwayne surfaced just as I was close to rolling over the side so I stepped up my pace, mistake number one. When I rolled over I didn't have my fins on, I got that sorted out and headed to the bottom. As the bottom came into view my right leg fetched up good in my buoy line and I was dangling upside down. I had to get upright to fix it and that is when my weight belt dropped around my ankles and the rest of my buoy line got tangled in my gear. I headed back to the surface with my belt around my ankles and my line wrapped all around me, but I made it with out blowing out a lung or anything. Time to call it a day.
Despite all that Steve did well with a couple of milks and two wine/rum bottles one of which is a free blown.
Oh yea, for anyone in Florida that thinks it's too cold to dive, the water temp here @ 80 ft is now 36*F.




Definitely not one of my better dives that's for sure. When I have situations like this I look back on it and think of things I could have done differently. For starters I should not have hurried my entry, then I should have synched up my weight belt when I was on the surface (I usually do this but forgot to this time). Next and I have been meaning to do this for decades but some how I never do, TRIM MY FIN STRAPS AND TAPE THEM. This will be done before I dive again. Next take some of the slack out of my line, I have 125 ft of line for a 90 ft dive, should be closer to 110.
If I would have had my fin straps trimmed and taped I wouldn't have got tangled and none of that would have happened.
I diving solo for almost all my dives and I should have addressed these gear issues much sooner. I would advise everyone to deal with there gear issues long before they become a major issue.

Happy Dives everyone
ZDD

 

[scotthowes]

Man glad to see you're ok.i dive 99% by my self it takes me a long time to get my gear on and in place be for i hit the water.when some one is on top which is seldom they comment on how long it takes my anser is you only get one shot at it so you better be right................stay safe scott

 

[Wookie]

Spring straps would address one of the problems forever, I love mine. A weight harness would solve the other. Admittedly, these are gear solutions to skills issues, but man, they are awesome gear solution issues. 36F on the bottom? Sounds like you will need lots of liquid cold medicine with a high alcohol content to me....

 

[Zerovis]

I will second the fin straps , as far a the weights go I switched to twin 12's with a ss backplate and a salvo torch ,I now dive without a weightbelt , the torch provides the aditional kilo or two that I need to allow me put air in my suit for warmth ,
the metal detectors , digging tools and all add a little extra weight
so swap your 12kg of lead for another 12l of air

 

[iamsharky]

Personally I would not cut any of the anchor line if you are diving in a tidal area.......

 

[Bob DBF]

Don't look at it as a bad dive, 3 down and 3 back on the boat is good, it's an instructive lesson in why being in a rush and not attending to details can bite you in the @ss. I dare say you will be taking care of deferred maintainance and refusing to rush into the water when your routine changes, so it's a good thing.

I have been acused of rushing, but I have used the same routine of suiting up for decades, including the pig sticker, and I only slow down when something dosen't go right, I'm working with new gear, or am being distracted because of the situation. Most of the time there is no problem, but I have had a few entertaining dives where the dive plan became minimize the problems and get out of the water before something else happens.



Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[pasley]

.... As the bottom came into view my right leg fetched up good in my buoy line and I was dangling upside down. I had to get upright to fix it and that is when my weight belt dropped around my ankles and the rest of my buoy line got tangled in my gear. ... Next take some of the slack out of my line, I have 125 ft of line for a 90 ft dive, should be closer to 110.
If I would have had my fin straps trimmed and taped I wouldn't have got tangled and none of that would have happened....
ZDD

Two things. First spring straps are awesome. Second I would recommend a reel to control your line. A line IMHO should always be kept with tension in it to prevent entanglement. Play it out as you drop and wind it up keeping tension on the line it is less likely to entangle you.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Great ideas guys, all of them. A few of the guys in our group use the spring straps and love them. But I think I am going to stick with my Turtle fins, I am just too old school I guess.

Looking back now there may have been one thing I could have done that I didnt try. I could have tried to get inverted again and work the wieght belt back down to my waist and tighten it back up while hanging by my foot, upside down in 80 ft of water. The risk is that I loose the wieght belt all together. The WB would have gotten got in my tool bag line and I would have been in a worse situation then I was. I guess that it is one of those things, when crap happens you get control of the situation the best way you can and make your way to the surface in a controlled assent.

We have been diving in this area for over 30 years and have tried all sorts of different ways to manage it. For the most part our system works well, BUT I have heard of one thing we didnt try, that is to use a piece of plasic tubing over the last 8 ft or so of line, this will help to keep the line from getting wraped up around our legs when swimming. Got this from one of the guys on the solo diving forum. Thanks Dumpsterdiver.

Bob DBF your are so right, use these dives as learning experiences. I have been diving for close to 40 years and I am still learning to this day. Our routine got messed up that day, we were late getting in the water, I was using a new BCD and was too buoyant and I had let some gear issues go far too long untill it bit me in the ass.

I hope you all take heed and learn from my mistakes. The next time I make a mistake, and there will be a next time I am sure. I will post it for more divers so we can depate it and come up with more great ideas to keep our diving safe.

Good luck everyone and POST YOUR FINDS.

ZDD

 

[LostPatriot]

Glad you are safe and able to dive again. As a diver who has been certified for decades, but just returning to the sport (loving it by the way), I read the posts by all of you experienced divers to be both entertained and learn. I appreciate you sharing your experience along with the follow-up as I may be better equipped mentally should a similar event occur to me. I appreciate it.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Glad you are safe and able to dive again. As a diver who has been certified for decades, but just returning to the sport (loving it by the way), I read the posts by all of you experienced divers to be both entertained and learn. I appreciate you sharing your experience along with the follow-up as I may be better equipped mentally should a similar event occur to me. I appreciate it.

Hey there LostPatriot, it is my hope that other divers can learn from some of my experiences. It was not the first time I lost a weight belt but I was lucky I was able to hold onto it with my feet. I tried to pull my legs up so I could reach the belt but with 2 layers of underware on and a 7 mm drysuit I was just not strong enough.
The last time I lost my belt it was around 25 years ago and I was inside a wreck. The wreck was on her side and the darn thing went all the way to the bottom and buried itself in the silt. I grabbed on to the ship and to control my assent I used a line and reel. I tied onto the wreck and slowly went up the line.
One thing I have learned over the years is to not overload yourself with equipment and although I have yet to use it I strap on a pony bottle for any dive over 30 ft. Also as you have seen do not put off taking care of your equipment issues.
I hope you have many more decades of diving to enjoy,
ZDD